On Saturday, September 15th, shoreline and community cleanup activities will take place around the world. This year, Greenpeace, along with various organizations in the Break Free From Plastic movement, will be adding an investigative twist to cleanups by auditing the type and company responsible for the branded plastic trash polluting our waterways, oceans, green spaces and communities.
Greenpeace campaigner Rosanna Endre holding up plastic pollution at the island of Kornö.
Greenpeace is documenting plastic pollution at the island Kornö outside of Lysekil on the Swedish west coast.
Various Greenpeace offices around the world will be gathering data on who are the major global and regional plastic polluters. In Canada, Greenpeace, in partnership with various local organizations, will be conducting brand audits in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
Have you been wanting to take action on plastic pollution and are interested in joining other folks concerned about the issue in a family-friendly activity? Join an audit near you!
Why are we conducting a Brand Audit?
Plastic pollution in the oceans and the environment has reached a crisis level. And while recycling is pushed as a solution by governments and big corporations, since the 1950s, only 9% of all the plastic produced globally has been recycled. Meanwhile, the production of plastic waste could quadruple by 2050.
Major plastic producers and companies selling billions of single-use, throwaway plastic products and items each year are not being held accountable for the massive waste and pollution problem they are fueling. Brand audits help shine a light on the impacts of the throwaway system we operate in. As consumers we are often given little choice, but the companies creating the plastic in the first place have a choice.
To curb plastic pollution we must stop this problem at the source and put a plug in endless production of disposable plastic.
September 15th is a great opportunity to join people around the world who are helping to keep their communities clean, learn more about the source of the plastic pollution crisis so that in the future we won’t need to have global cleanup days. Join us and a global movement of people who want to create a throwaway plastic-free future.
Don’t see a Greenpeace brand audit event near you? Host your own!
If the audits we are hosting aren’t close to where you live, see if other organizations might be conducting cleanups and inquire whether they might be keen to add a brand audit. If you or someone you know are already organizing a cleanup in your community, or want to host your own brand audit event, you can learn how to conduct a brand audit by downloading Action #6 of our Toolkit for a Plastic-Free Future!